Jonathan Marland

Jonathan Peter Marland, Baron Marland, (born 14 August 1956) is a venture capitalist and was treasurer of the Conservative Party between 2003-07. In 2006 he was made Baron Marland of Odstock. He has also acted as an advisor to the Conservative Party on its relations with business, arguing that relations need to be improved to regain the Tory's "credibility on the economy".[1]

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Background

Outside of politics, Lord Marland was one of the founding directors of Jardine Lloyd Thomson plc, a multinational insurance business and also founded the Jubilee insurance company at Lloyd's of London. He led the acquisitions of Hunter Wellington Boots, Insurance Capital Partners, Janspeed Performance Ltd and Wisden Cricketer Magazine.

In June 2010 in response to a question asked by Lord Hunt of Kings Heath on what proposals the Coalition government had for the development of nuclear-powered generation in the United Kingdom, Lord Marland replied:

The Government are committed to allowing the construction of new nuclear power stations, provided that they are subject to the normal planning process for major projects and receive no public subsidy. The Government will continue to work through the Office for Nuclear Development to drive progress in all areas needed to bring this about.[4]

Meetings with nuclear firms

In June and July 2010 Marland met with Chaucer Plc and Rolls-Royce respectively to discuss "Nuclear issues". [5]

Close friend of spindoctor Lynton Crosby

In September 2013 documents released under Freedom of Information to the University of Bath's Tobacco Control Research Group revealed that Marland had been lobbied by David Cameron's election guru lobbyist Lynton Crosby over tobacco plain packaging. Marland is a close friend of Crosby, whom he has described as "fantastic". The Observer reported that:

They worked together on London mayor Boris Johnson's campaigns. "When I was asked to get involved in Boris's campaign for London mayor, the first thing I did was call my friend, campaign guru Lynton Crosby, and ask him to run it," Marland once explained. CTF's website carries a testimony from Marland, calling Crosby "the best [campaign] manager in the world". [9]